Shoe



A. EI LITTLE.

SHOE. APPLICATION FILED MAY I2, Iso.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

Fig. 2

Invenror. Alxord'er E. LI'TILC by, Mmmm. ATya I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER E. LiT'rLE, or LYNiv, MASSACHUSETTS, Assis-non 'ro A. E. LITTLE COMPANY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS,

A CORPORATON OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE.

Application led May 12,

T 0 all 1li/2.0m t 7110.3/ concern.'

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER Lim-LE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, county of Essex, IState of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to slices and has for its object to provide a novel shoe which can be produced with an increased economy in the use of material, which is constructed so that it will have a smooth interior and thus be extremely comfortable, and which has other` advantages, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to give an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a shoe embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section through the heel on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4-4, Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5, Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a view of the toe of the shoe with the toe cap shown in section on sub stantially the line 6 6, Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sect-ion on the line 7--7, Fig. 1.

The upper of my improved shoe comprises the vamp portion 1 and the quarter portion 2, said vamp portion and quarter portion being sewed together along the line 3 at each side of the shoe. The shoe herein shown is a lace shoe and is, therefore, open at the front, as shown at 4, and each side of the opening is provided with a lacing stay 25 through which are formed the eyelets 6 for the lacing.

The quarter portion 2 of my improved shoe is unlined, but I will preferably provide a lining 7 for the vamp portion. In order to provide a shoe having a smooth interior surface which is free from any ridges, such as would be caused by sewing the vamp and quarter together with an overlapping joint,

Specification of Letters 1fatent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 380,808.

I propose to connect the edge of the vamp to the edge of the quarter with an improved form of butt joint. The edge of the lining 7 for the vamp portion is folded about the edge 8 of the vamp which is secured to the quarter 2, as shown at 9 in Fig. 5, and preferably this folded edge 9 of the lining will be stitched to the edge of the vamp by means of suitable stitches 10.

In connecting the vamp and quarter during the process of manufacturing the shoe, the edge 8 of the vamp with the edge 9 of the lining folded thereabout is abutted against the edge 11 of the quarter 2 and then these two edges 8 and 11 are secured together by means of zig-Zag stitching 12, such as shown' in Fig. 5. This butt-joint produces a smooth surface on the interior of the shoe notwithstanding the fact that the vamp is provided with a lining while the quarter 2 is yunlined.

In order to cover up the edge of the lining where it is folded about the edge 8 of the vamp, I propose to employ a stay or cover strip 13 which overlies the seam or joint between the edge 8 of the vamp and the edge 11 of the quarter, said cover strip 13 eX- tending longitudinally of the joint and being sewed to both the vamp and the quarter by suitable stitches 14. This strip 13 thus serves not only to cover up the joint, but also adds to the appearance of the shoe.

As stated above, the quarter portion 2 of the shoe is unlined and extends from the top of the shoe clear to the heel seat. Secured to the exterior of the 'quarter around the heel is a foxing 15, the upper edge of the foxing being sewed to the quarter by a line of stitching 16. The counter 17 is inserted between the foxing 15 and the exterior of the quarter 2. This construction provides a perfectly smooth interior surface at the heel portion and avoids the presence of any ridge or unevenness at the top of the counter.

The quarter portion 2 of the shoe is made in two parts which are secured to ether at the back. The seam 18 uniting t ese two parts extends from the top of the shoe down to a point 19 directly above the top of the counter. From the point 19 down to the heel seat, the two edges 2O of the quarter portions are disconnected from each other and are arranged to have an overlapping relation, said edges being skived so as to make a smooth surface. By leaving the two edges one which can be Vworn with increased comfort.

My improved shoe is provided with the.

usual box toe 21 and toe cap 22. The vamp 1 is shaped so that it extends only to the box toe 21 and the front edge 23 of the vamp l is arranged in abutting relation with the edge 24. of the boX toe 21. By reason of this butt-joint between the edges 23 and 24, a perfectly smoothV interior surface is provided at the toe portion of the shoe.. The lining 7 extends clear to the toe of the shoe and, therefore, covers the interior of the box toe as well as the interior of the vamp 1.

The edges of the quarter at the lacing opening are each provided with an eyeletstay 25 which is secured to the outside of the upper and a facing strip 26 secured to the inside of the upper. n making the shoe the eyelet-stay and facing strip 25 and 26 `are sewed together yby stitches 27, as shown in Fig. 4, and the eyelet-stay is then applied to the edge of the quarter'2 and is sewed thereto by suitable stitches 28. The facing strip 26 is then folded back on itself, as shown in dotted lines Fig.'4 and the edge thereof sewed to the quarter 2 by suitable stitches 29. One advantage of this coni struction is that it is possible to save some material in the quarter by sewing the eyeletstay 25 to the quarter closely adjacent the edge thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the eyelet-stay will project beyond the edge of thequarter. The use of both the eyeletstay 25 and the facing strip 26 makes a portion of double thickness through which the eyelets 6 are inserted.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I propose to make the cover strip 13 and the eyeletstay 25 from the same strip of leather, that is, the eyelet-stay will be provided with an extension portion 13 shaped to cover the joint between the vamp andthe quarter.

The elimination of the lining for the quarter portion 2 of the shoe results in considerable saving in material, and by inserting the counter between the foxing land the bottom edge of the quarter, a slice with a smooth interior surface is provided which yet has the Vrequisite stiff heel portion.

Furthermore, the manner of connecting the vamp and quarter provides a smooth .joint free from ridgesvor shoulders.

I claim:

l. A shoe-having a vamp portion anda quarter portionv arranged with their meeting edges in abutting relation, a lining for the vamp having its edges bent around that edge thereof which abuts an edge of the quarter, and means connecting said edges.

2. A shoe having a vamp portion and a quarter portion arranged with their meeting edges in abutting relation, a lining for the vamp having its edges bent around that edge thereof which abuts an edge of the quarter, and a cover strip overlying and eX- tending longitudinally of said abutting edges and secured to beth` quarter and vamp.

23. A shoe comprising anunlined quarter portion which extends from the top` of the shoe to the heelV seat, a foxing secured to the exterior of the quarter adjacent the heel, a counter inserted between the exterior of the quarter and the foxing, said quarter being made in two sections which are `secured to* gether at the back of the shoe from the top thereof to a point below the top of the coun ter, said sections being disconnected Afrom said latter point to the heel seat, and the 

